While not of Cuban descent myself, I fell in love with Cuban food during my travels in Miami, Tampa, and Latin America. As a student of traditional cuisines of the world (particularly of the Mediterranean and Caribbean), I own over 100 cookbooks and this one is easily in my top five. It is traditional, authentic, and contains many great recipes. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, Cuban cooking is not the same as Mexican. Mexican cooking is basically a Native American Indian cuisine, with some European Spanish influence. Cuban cooking is a blend of European Spanish and Afro-Caribbean traditions, and the Spanish influence is somewhat stronger than in Mexican cuisine. Cuban cooking does not make use of chile peppers or tortilla flat breads. It does use lots of garlic, olive oil, onions, and some Caribbean crops such as plantains. Both are great cuisines, just different. The recipes in this book are generally straightforward and not too difficult. We find that the ingredients are usually easy to find at our local grocery store. As to our favorites: "Mom's black bean soup" is the best we've had, anywhere (We don't puree ours, just add enough water to get the right consistency). The sandwiches are also excellent: Pan con lechon is perhaps the greatest sandwich ever devised by Man. Marinated, slow-roasted pork on crusty bread, which is first slathered with Mojo sauce: a sauteed mixture of olive oil, garlic, onions, and orange, lemon, and lime juice. The sandwich is then lightly toasted. The Sandwich Cubano is also very good, as are the many seafood recipes: garlic shrimp is a favorite. Also try the avocado salad as an accompaniment: we're addicted to it. Enjoy.